Groublogpon – The Serious Blog of Groupon

About a month ago we announced the acquisition of mob.ly, to super charge our efforts to make it really easy for you to buy Groupons and take them with you on any mobile phone.

Starting today you can download a revamped version of our iPhone app.  We have made it faster, eliminated the crashes that some of you have been reporting and setup a foundation that will allow us to add new features quickly.  Also by popular demand, you can now view side/nearby deals from the “More” button on the deal page and use your Groupons when offline.

We are working on adding tons of new features to the iPhone app- everything from the ability to purchase Groupon’s as gifts, to using your G’s and browsing discussion forums.  We would love your input- post your comments on what you would like to see.  For you non-iPhone users- we have some great stuff in the works- so stay tuned!

I recently read in a business book that the secret of great companies is not trying to please everyone – you’ll more likely end up pleasing no one. You’re better off perfecting the experience for a more narrow audience. Since we want to be THE BEST company, we are now implementing the Platonic ideal of that advice by introducing a new program that is perfect for exactly one person.

G-oodies (pronounced “Gah” – pause – “oodies”) is a new part of Groupon Rewards where every day, we mail a highly specific item to one lucky customer. It could be a cat tree, a tie and socks set, or all six seasons of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys – you never know.

Make no mistake – G-oodies aren’t just things our employees have laying around. Each G-oodie is hand-picked and ordered by our staff with the intent of addressing a very particular need and making someone really really happy.

Unfortunately, we haven’t received feedback from most G-oodie recipients, but we did receive this email from Candice T., the lucky winner of an autoharp:

• “Seriously?! What am I supposed to do with an autoharp? I mean if you had sent me something like flowers, tiramisu cheesecakes from The Chesecake Factory, or a boy named Ian, then perhaps, I could have figured out something to do with them. An autoharp? Seriously? Am I allowed to donate it?” – Groupon Rewards Member C.W. Tam

It’s true: the problem with mailing a random person something extremely specific is that not every match will be made in heaven.

But if only once in the next year we manage to give something to someone that is eerily tuned to their deepest desires, we’ll have done our job. For this very reason, I carried a 4 D Cell Maglite in my backpack for my entire junior year of high school. “Darn, I dropped my pencil under teacher’s desk! I’ll tell you Andrew, if only I had a flashlight.” “No problem!” “WOAH! HOW LUCKY I AM THAT YOU HAVE THAT!!!” (unfortunately this fantasy never came to fruition, but the dream helped me make it through that year.)

Go ahead and browse the complete list of G-oodies. And the next time you buy a Groupon, remember that it could mean a dental mouth guard is in your future.

Groupon is all about discovering cool things in your city. Now, we’re making it even easier to get your friends involved. Whenever you buy a Groupon, you’ll have the option to share that purchase on your Facebook wall and right on the Groupon deal page.

It’s easier than ever to show off your adventurous skydiving plans or organize a group outing to a hip new restaurant. Enable Facebook Connect then click the “share” box on the Groupon checkout page to show your friends what you’re up to.

If you want a surprise gift to remain a secret or just want to keep your bikini wax to yourself, that’s okay too — you can choose whether or not to share each individual purchase you make from Groupon. The things you choose to share will only be seen by your Facebook friends.

To connect to Facebook, look for the button. You can manage your Facebook connection and Groupon sharing preferences from your My Account page.